The Franciscan and diocesan clergy

23. The Franciscan and diocesan clergy. The relations between the Franciscan and diocesan clergy regarding pastoral duties in the parishes of Herzegovina were established by a Decision of the Holy See in 1899 by the suggestions of the Franciscans themselves and then bishop Paskal Buconjic OFM. According to this Decision the parishes were to be divided equally into two groups of 50% of the faithful between the clergy. Since there were no diocesan clergy at the time, the parishes that rightfully belonged to them were in 1923 left to the Franciscans "ad nutum S. Sedis". Bishop Cule, the first diocesan bishop of Mostar, in 1948 was sentenced to 11 years and 6 months in jail. He served eight and a half years of this sentence before being released. After his jail term the number of diocesan clergy began to rise. In 1968, the Holy See ordered the Franciscans to hand over five parishes to the diocesan clergy. They barely gave two parishes.

In 1975 after many years of talks and consultations a Decree of the Holy See was issued regarding the division of parishes in Herzegovina. The Franciscans publicly and collectively denounced this Decree even though they administer over 80 % of the faithful in the diocese of Mostar. In 1976, due to disobedience, the hierarchy of the Franciscan Province along with then Provincial Silic lost their authority and since then, the Province has been without its independence, and the General of the Order rules directly over the Province "ad instar". Another penalty was that in 1979, the Franciscans from Herzegovina were not allowed to participate in the election of the General. The first point mentioned by the new General of the Order to his brothers in Herzegovina was: 'the development or creation of obedience to, and cooperation with the bishop in Herzegovina'. Disobedience prevails today as before, and "Our Lady" from the beginning has been defending disobedient Franciscans. Vicka writes in her diary of the apparitions, that Our Lady said that the bishop is to blame for all the disorder in Herzegovina. (See no. 9). This is repeated many times. The Franciscans themselves are divided. The Franciscan opposition that defends Medjugorje succeeded in toppling their own "ad instar" superiors that developed good relations with the bishop, and they installed a group that defends Medjugorje. The new Provincial "ad instar", Rev. Jozo Vasilj, did not succeed in creating peace and order amongst his brothers so he escaped to the missions in Zaire and won't come back! (Fruits?!) He has been replaced by the Vice Provincial and the General has called for obedience from all or else the Province shall be abolished. "It is time that everyone takes their own personal responsibility before judicial sanctions are made or the Province is abolished." (Acta Ordinis F.M. fasc. 1/89). The Province will not receive its own hierarchy until the Decree is completed. Three visitors of the OFM Order who came to the Province in 1988 said that there is not one Franciscan in the Province who is in favor of completing the Decree. This opinion is exaggerated yet still important.

24. This is only a portion of the "good fruits" of the events. The pilgrims, though, only know that the bishop "hates the Franciscans". There are a good number of Franciscans in the Province who cooperate well with the bishop and these Franciscans do not believe in the apparitions either. Some of them have never set foot in Medjugorje.
A number of good Franciscans have begged me to write something so that together, we could start a battle against the lies of Medjugorje because they believe that "God will punish us Franciscans severely because we have spread lies and falsehoods throughout the world and made money on them".
Of the one hundred diocesan priests in the dioceses of Herzegovina, not one believes in the apparitions. Of the 42 bishops of Yugoslavia (ordinaries, auxiliaries and retired), only one has been outspoken in declaring his belief and has defended the events. Of the 15 members of the first Commission, which was formed by the bishop of Mostar with the help of there (?) bishops and provincials from Yugoslavia, 11 of the members said that there is nothing supernatural in the events of Medjugorje, 2 (Franciscans) claimed that the apparitions are authentic, 1 member said that there was something "in nucleo" (in the beginning) and 1 abstained. That which the Commission worked on for three years, the Holy See (contrary to what has been spread by the defenders of Medjugorje) never asked for, or saw, or gave a judgment of. Neither did the Holy See abandon the bishop.

25. From the beginning of the events I warned the Franciscans that they must wait for the judgment of the Church, so that together we can search for the truth. The leaders of the events though, had as their aim to bring the masses as soon as possible to Medjugorje, obtain a lot of money for propaganda and use Our Lady for their battle against the bishop. They fabricated miracles regarding the sun. Many pilgrims damaged their eyes from staring into the sun. They cited 50, 150, 200 and 300 healings and they spoke of all sorts of things seeing that the faithful believed everything they said, especially when Archbishop F. Franic and Laurentin were there to back them up. The faithful in Medjugorje look upon the events as they are instructed, as is the case in all other places of apparitions be they true or false. The marveling and excitement here has been regarded at times as leading to great blindness and fanaticism.

26. The Italians know well the "story" of Gigliole Ebe Giorgini, the foundress of the false order of "Pia Opera di Gesu Misericordioso". Separated and remarried civilly, she spent time doing quackery. She gathered young women for their order and she received and earned great amounts of money. She had two priests in her service and many houses. She led a double life and had false stigmata which she made herself. Her "sisters" followed her fanatically and they called her Mamma Ebe. She had male vocations as well, but some who left her later on, declared that she led an immoral life. She had many jewels and gold, two yachts, 32 furs, etc. Many in the Church objected to her way of life, while others fanatically defended her, citing good fruits. She even received praise from two bishops. Twice during the night police raided her room in the mother house and they found her in bed with one of her seminarians. A scandal broke out and she was sentenced twice to many years in prison along with a Franciscan who was her confessor. The press wrote for years about this scandal. An illicit film was made as well, yet her followers fanatically and blindly defended her even when the order fell apart. According to them, she was a saint who attracted many vocations and this was argument enough for many that from the "fruits" she was obviously inspired by God! Religious blindness is extremely hard to cure. Fanaticism brought the beginning of the heresies in the church, today it's the foundation of sects.

The Protestant pastor Rev. Jim Jones developed a great charitable organization in southern Chicago and he gathered great sums of money and many fanatical followers of his sect. In order to be freer in their work, about 1000 of them, went to Guyana, South America where they established "Jonestown" as their new home. They established a dictatorship and fanatical obedience to their "Messiah".

Much was written about terrible things that went on, about the immorality of Jones and how some tried to escape the community but were caught and killed. Then they were without money. Rumors spread that the American army would intervene, so Jones ordered them to retreat to the jungle. Seeing no way out, he called on everyone to give up their lives in order to travel to eternity. Over 900 of them came with cups to a huge pot in order to drink poison and then fell dead. What gave them the strength to commit suicide? Fanaticism! Yet when the Christian faithful hear of apparitions and miracles they easily accept these events as facts without being at all critical of the events. They are then caught up in their blindness and fanaticism. Whatever is spoken is believed automatically, such as, that ordinary rosaries in Medjugorje turn to gold! And people actually believe this!

27. This blindness towards the events in Medjugorje has also caught some priests and bishops. Many priests from Italy, (such as Amorth, Rostral and others), easily could have heard that the bishop, the Commission, the bishops of Yugoslavia, a portion of the Franciscans and all the diocesan priests do not believe in the events. Yet, they avoided the truth, even though I received everyone who inquired about the events and gave them my time. I'm particularly surprised by the lack of collegiality by some bishops. Nobody has to accept my judgment, but everyone is obligated by conscience to study well the events of Medjugorje before taking a portion, especially if that person has a position of authority in the Church, as bishops do.

"What have they done to you Our Lady!" For nine years they have been dragging you along as a tourist attraction. They have been speaking with you whenever it pleased them, as if you were a bank teller. They have fabricated messages, and they say that you come and appear there, but beyond their own arguments they have nothing to prove that what they say is true. The whole world is in expectation of a "great sign" and the naive still wait and believe. Unfortunately this false sensation will bring great disgrace and scandal upon the Church. Those who lead the events are not converting even though the threat of the abolition of the Province by the General hangs over them.

This is only a small compilation of that which I would like to write about. Hopefully, I will have the opportunity to expand further, with precise documentation and publish a book on these events.

28. There are many prayers and pious activities in Medjugorje. Some say that there have been conversions as well. I have received indeed many truly touching letters, and I feel sorry for those who will sooner or later be disappointed. But there has also been fanaticism, superstition and misinformation in the events of Medjugorje. I have also received many rude accusations in the mail which I cannot mention, all in the name of the "Queen of Peace". That which is positive in these events cannot justify the falsehoods and lies that have been spread in order to win the world over for God. Jesus said: "I have come into the world to witness to the truth." The Church would easily be able to attract the masses if it dropped the sixth commandment, if divorce were allowed, if it let everyone believe and do what they wanted. But, Jesus went on the cross for the truth, and the martyrs gave up their lives for the truth. St. Paul writes to his faithful: "If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to that which you received, let him be accursed." (Galatians 1, 9) Today, many prayer groups all over the world pray from Rev. Ivica Vego's prayer book and meditate over the supposed messages of Our Lady as it these things were more important than the Bible and the teaching Magisterium of the Church. I do believe despite these events, that Our Lady shall beg the necessary graces for the Church in order for it to live Christ's truth.

I know that there will probably be many sincerely pious souls that will misunderstand me and consider me an enemy of Our Lady. I have been to Lourdes many times and to other shrines that have been tied in with apparitions that the Church has recognized. What I am doing is defending the truth, defending the Church, and I pray to God that I be able to give up my life for this.

29. Those who have written favorably about Medjugorje have sold their books well and have made great profits. Unfortunately, those who have written critically about these events have not fared so well. Their work has come against such organized resistance from the promoters of these so-called apparitions that they have, in fact come against a boycott.
Msgr. Pavao Zanic, Bishop of Mostar, 1990

For the other side of this story, I suggest the following publications:

http://www.newjerusalem.com/bishop-truth.htm[All emphases are the author’s]The Church does not stand or fall on whether or not the Divine Mercy Devotion is approved, or if the Fatima Message is approved. The Church stands or falls on whether or not the faithful remain obedient to the Church herself!("Those who are not of God refuse to listen to us." i.e.: the Bishops,1-John 4:6) 'Cut off from the Bishops, not even devotion to the Eucharist itself can unite the faithful to the Mystical Body of Christ.' [Pope John Paul II, Ecclesia de Eucharistia 2003, Chap 4, part 39]

The "Marian Catholic Apostasy" began in the mid 1960's at the time of Garabandal. Garabandal began the insidious disease of Marian Catholics rejecting of the teaching authority of the Church by absolutely rejecting the explicit decree of the responsible bishop. These disobedient Marian Catholics participated in the very same apostasy of disobedience joined by the liberals who rejected Humanae Vitae, and by the ultra-Traditionalists who completely rejected the teaching authority of the Church. From left, right, and center, by the late 1960's apostasy consumed the Catholic Church.

The 'Error of Russia' then spread through the whole world!At that very point a spiritual tourniquet was applied to the heart of Catholicism.

The disobedience of Catholics of every kind became nearly universal. The deceptions were so great that huge numbers of good Marian Catholics began to consciously reject the teaching authority of the Church. They were duped like every heretic before them. They offered countless similar futile excuses to justify their disobedience to the Church, like every heretic after them. The fact remained: the very elect had been deceived! This obstructed the Holy Spirit from effectively sanctifying the Church or empowering the Church in the world.

The Church was rendered incapable of truly sanctifying that generation of it's own members, let alone was it able to retain the sanctity of the power of Christianity in the rest of the world. The destruction of the Church internally, resulted in the simultaneous destruction of what was left of Christian civilization externally. Only then did the errors of Russia almost instantaneously "spread throughout the whole world". Russia's primary error was 'man's rejection of the dominion of God' - this is the "spirit of the world". The devil's most perfect tool to accomplish this is to incite the faithful themselves to reject the teaching authority of the Church. Thus, the Marian Catholic's also rejected the "dominion of God" which is embodied by Christ's kingdom on earth: the Church. ("Those who are not of God refuse to listen to us." i.e.: the Bishops 1 John 4:6)

The Bishop of Medjugorje explicitly canonically suspended the sacramental faculties of any priest who might attempt to exercise his priestly faculty within the Diocese of Mostar in association with the Medjugorje occurrences. It can not be made more clear than this! Still, dozens of priests, and millions of pilgrims continued to come forward to publicly disobey him.

While the Gospa conquered Christianity from the east, Madonna conquered Christianity from the west. And around Madonna's neck?? The Cross of Christ! In both cases, the cross had not only lost it's power - but was used as a tool of seduction by the evil one!

The total disintegration of the entire Christian civilization occurred in perfect conjunction with the Marian Catholic Apostasy. It was "possible" that the "very elect" could be deceived: and they were. They blamed the liberals. They blamed the Pope for failing to consecrate Russia. They blamed the sodomites in the seminaries. All the while, they themselves were the ones obstructing the power of conversion - because they themselves had lost the true Catholic faith. The salt had lost it's flavor, and the cross of Christ was rendered void of it's power in the world. Every follower of Garabandal, or Bayside, or Gruner, or Medjugorje in the whole world blamed somebody else for the problems in the world - while they themselves tenaciously rejected the teaching authority of the Apostles. The sodomites did not cause the Roman Catholic Church to fall. The Marian Catholics themselves were the most responsible of all. How can a sodomite destroy the power of prayer? He can not! But a disobedient Catholic - praying the Rosary while he rejects the authority of the Apostles DOES INDEED destroy the power of prayer - because he has rejected the authority of the Apostles, and is thus cut off from the Church itself.

"And what good is salt that has lost its flavor? It is good for nothing but to be thrown out and trodden under foot." Pronounced here is a hidden prophetic metaphor. Using these very same words, Christ had decreed that "Jerusalem must be trodden underfoot until the age of the gentiles is completely fulfilled."

Ominously, in 1965, at the close of Vatican II, the Church issued a canonical proclamation which LIFTED the curse of the Jews. That document stated the Jews of this generation were no longer to be considered to by responsible for the Crucifixion of Christ. The Church by Canonical Edict proclaimed that the Jews henceforth were to be considered innocent of this charge. This papal declaration, combined with the Marian Catholic Apostasy, and the destruction of Christian civilization, has now marked the completion of the fulfillment the 'age of the gentiles'.

True Catholics are manifestly spiritually united with each other through their submission to the decrees of the Bishops who are in union with the Holy Father. ("Those who are not of God refuse to listen to us." i.e. the Bishops 1 John 4:6) To be "Catholic" means that all share universal spiritual union with one another.

There is no: "I follow Faustina! I follow Lucia! I follow Conchita! I follow Veronica Leuken! I follow Ivan and Vicka!This is hogwash! Only someone infected by apostasy would publicly disobey a legitimate Bishop's explicit directives concerning the promotion of a condemned apparition! "Is Christ divided?"

'Even in the devotion to, or in the reception of the Eucharist: the faithful are only truly united to Christ and to his Mystical Body, the Church, through the Bishops. Cut off from the Bishops not even devotion to the Eucharist itself can unite the faithful to the Mystical Body of Christ.' [Pope John Paul II, Ecclesia de Eucharistia 2003, Chap 4, part 39] Today through false apparitions, the devil has succeeded in catastrophically damaging the Church by creating a very real spiritual schism joined by countless numbers of Marian Catholics. He has effectively blocked the spiritual power of the Church in the world, by destroying the mystical union of the faithful with the Body of Christ. He has accomplished this by luring Catholics to willfully disregard, and to intentionally disobey to the explicit decrees of the Bishops, the successors of the Apostles. Only through the Bishops does the power of divine grace come into the world. This has enabled the "error of Russia", which is in fact the 'Spirit of the World', i.e. man's rejection of the dominion of God, to spread throughout the whole world, even conquering Christian Civilization itself.(From: The Great Marian-Catholic Apostasy)

“Following a number of official letters between the Episcopal Curia, the Franciscan Provincial and Fra Slavko Barbaric concerning the friar being sent away from Medjugorje, where he had for years been carrying out pastoral work illegally, without the approval of the diocesan curia, the diocesan Ordinary proclaims that Fra Slavko Barbaric is deprived of confessional jurisdiction (the faculties of hearing confessions) in the territories of all dioceses of Hercegovina.”

This decree has been published in 'Vrhbosna', the official Newsletter of the Diocese of the Metropolis of Sarajevo (n.1/2000, p.65)

In the following pages we shall see how and why measures of this sort were taken, which Medjugorjian publicity has always kept hidden (successfully!)

Slavko Barbaric was one of the 3 priests who were closest to the six children of Medjugorje (the others were Fra Jozo Zovko and Fra Tomislav Vlasic**)

In October 1984, a short time after Fr. Vlasic had been sent away because of disciplinary measures, bishop Zanic ordered Fr. Slavko not to permit the 'apparitions' to take place in the church any more.

Because the friar did not carry out these orders, on the 30th January 1985 Mons. Zanic ordered him to be sent away from Medjugorje (cf. Ogledalo Pravde-Mirror of Justice-The Diocesan Curia of Mostar concerning the presumed apparitions and messages of Medjugorje, Mostar 2001, p. 59) within 7 days.

Immediately the interventions of the 'Gospa' started in favour of Fr. Slavko!

'Seer' Ivan confirmed that he had received this 'message' from the 'Gospa' on 3rd February 1985 : "I wish Slavko to remain here, for him to guide the life of the parish and gather together all the news so that when I no longer appear there will be a complete picture of everything that has happened." (R. Laurentin-Corpus chronologique des messages, OEIL, 1987, p. 234)

Within 7 days Ivan sent this signed letter to bishop Zanic: "Excellency, I received these messages on Krizevac 6-2—1985: The 'Gospa' was not as joyful as before. She said that, during these days, we must pray for the Bishop. Then she said these words sorrowfully: "I am sorry that he has not accepted my apparitions and has not immediately set to work, spreading my messages of peace, conversion, fasting and prayer."

The 'Gospa’s' words for the Bishop are: "Father, I am here in Medjugorje. I have chosen my messengers to give the world the good news and set this world free from the valley of sin, hatred, war, conflict and other sins. Father, do not persecute my priests, messengers of the word of God, if you do not believe in my messengers through whom I give messages and guide them to life. Father, listen to my words and take a stand. Begin to act."

Medjugorje, 7-2-1985, Ivan Dragicevic

Fra Slavko remained in Medjugorje in oppositionto the bishop, until 15th September when he moved to Blagaj, 25 km. away. The Franciscan was ordered not to go to Medjugorje anymore, but he disobeyed this order regularly.

Fra Vlasic, who was in Vitina, and was also notmeant to go to Medjugorje, behaved in the same way, and in reality, he continued to have frequent contact with the visionaries. In order to become aware of how often these two visited Medjugorje during these years, it is enough to consult the issues of the 'Echo of Medjugorje' or the diary published annually by the 'official' story teller Fr. Rene Laurentin at that time.

On the 15th September 1988 the Franciscan Provincial suggested that Fra Slavko be moved to the Monastery of Humac. The bishop gave his approval on 16th September 1988.

Fra Slavko moved there, but in 1991 he returned permanently to Medjugorje without the Bishops permission (cf. Ogledalo Pravde, book bishop Peric, Mostar, 2001, p. 60)

In 1993 the new bishop Mons Peric was installed in Mostar. He waited until the 20th November 1999 to order Fra Slavko to leave Medjugorje and return to Humac within a period of 15 days. The Franciscan did not obey.

The bishop renewed the order on the 17th December 1999 without effect.

However on the 26th January 2000 he gave him a canonical warning, bringing to his attention the fact that if he did not leave Medjugorje before 20th February 2000 he would be deprived of the faculty of hearing confessions.

Mons. Peric renewed the aforementioned warning on the 9th February and again on the 15th February (cf. Ogledalo Pravde p.60). The Franciscan continued to disobey.